QUILTS & FABRIC: PAST & PRESENT

Thursday, May 21, 2009

I've been studying the prints of John Hewson, a Philadelphia wood block printer who was in business from 1774 to about 1820. He's sometimes credited as America's "first calico printer," but there's no way to know who was America's first calico printer. Several people left records earlier than Hewson, though.

The bird is from a snapshot of a Hewson print I took at an exhibit at the Winterthur Museum a year or two ago.

I am going to do a luncheon Roundtable Discussion called "America's First Calico Printer" at the American Quilt Study Group seminar in San Jose in October. It's time to start signing up so click here to find out more about the seminar.http://www.americanquiltstudygroup.org/seminar.asp

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Here's a low-calorie cake that we've been making in my sewing group. Above one slice of red velvet by Wendy; a cake quilt for Sarah who makes birthday cakes for us all year round and at the top another version by Bobbi Finley, whipped up from The Morris Garden reproduction collection I did for Moda. The Morris Garden fabric should be in the quilt shops in July; the pattern for the Birthday Cake is available from C&T Publishing or your local quilt shop.http://www.ctpub.com/birthday-cake-pattern/

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Celine sent a photo of her grandmother wearing a dress of serpentine stripes. The fashion for these snakey stripes (hence the name) was revived at the end of the century and here we have a woman at work about 1895 wearing a fashionable but serviceable dress. Celine writes that Ellen Mason Grable is standing to the left of her husband Silas Grable. The other men were his brothers, salmon fisherman and loggers in Ilwaco, Washington.

She also writes: "It's funny how us quilters always notice the fabric!"

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Contact Me

The email address for this blog is MaterialCult@gmail.com

DOG-GONE GOOD BOOKS

I've published a lot of books on quilt history and quilt patterns over the years. Below are some links to buy them, mostly eBooks or Print-on-Demand. But first click on the dog to go to my Etsy store to see if I have any printed copies I can autograph and send you.

VISIT MY ETSY STORE

Click to see books and quilts for sale. The books are all print editions from early print runs.

E-Book version of Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns.

Click on the book cover to buy a downloadable version.

Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns

The bound volume of this index to 4,000 designs with names is Out of Print. Buy an E-Book version above or buy the digital version BlockBase directly below which will print any pattern any size.

BlockBase

This computer program features over 4,300 patterns. Use it for pattern ideas, pattern I.D. and pattern drafting. Program is for PC's. Click on the box.

Making History: Quilts & Fabric From 1890-1970

A guide to making reproduction quilts, choosing reproduction prints and dating fabrics. Click on the cover to buy it from C&T Publishing.

Borderland in Butternut & Blue

Sampler Quilt to Recall the Civil War Along the Kansas/Missouri Border. A BOM with 14" traditional blocks and lots of history. Click for more:

CLUES IN THE CALICO eBook

Out of Print.

America's Printed Fabrics: 1770-1890

How to date antique fabrics and add to your stash of reproduction prints with projects for reproduction quilts. C&T sells new Print-on-Demand editions. Click on the bookcover.

Encyclopedia of Applique

The Encyclopedia of Applique second edition. Click on the bookcover for more information about an eBook or a Print-On-Demand version. Or buy from my stock at my Etsy store above.

Facts and Fabrications

Twenty traditional blocks to "Unravel the History of Quilts and Slavery." Click on the cover to buy an on-demand print edition.

CIVIL WAR SAMPLER: 50 Quilt Blocks

The book based on my Civil War Quilts blog is still in print. Click on the cover to buy a copy from C&T Publishing.

Quilts From the Civil War

Information on the role of quilts in the Civil War. Click on the cover to read more and order a digital version of this out-of-print classic. I have paper copies in my Etsy store above.

Civil War Women

More about quilts and how women used them during the War for fundraising, patriotism and practical bedding. Click on the cover to see more about an e-Book or Print-On-Demand book.

Juniper and Mistletoe

Karla Menaugh and I designed a BOM featuring quirky tree designs we found in antique quilts. Click on the cover to buy one at my Etsy store. We'll sign it.

EMPORIA ROSE

Challenging Applique from the heart of quilt country. Click to see more at C&T Publishing.

THE GARDEN QUILT: Interpreting a Masterpiece

More masterpiece applique from Ilyse Moore and me. Click on the cover to read more.

Visit My Spoonflower Shop

I have a few designs available at Spoonflower.com. You can buy yardage of postcard backs, quilt labels (like the one in the photo) and political prints in my Material Culture shop. Click on the label.

BOOK OF THE SAINTS EBOOK

You can buy my Book of the Saints For Quilters as an EBook for IPads for $3.99. Click on the picture to find ordering information for my 30-page collection of photocollages.

Lately Arrived EBook for IPads

A few years ago I did a Blurb book to accompany my Moda repro collection Lately Arrived From London. You can buy this little book with ideas and information on early quilts for $3.99 for your IPad. Click to see

Borderland in Butternut and Blue

A Block of the Month featuring patterns and stories recalling the Civil War in the west. Click on the cover to see more.

Carrie Hall's Sampler

A Block of the Month, featuring my favorite applique from Carrie Hall's 1935 Romance of the Patchwork Quilt. Click for more info.

Women of Design: Quilts in the Newspaper

Stitch pieced and appliqued baskets in the style of pattern designers from the 1930s as you learn about where quilt patterns come from. OUT OF PRINT.

Prairie Flower: A Year on the Plains

Block of the month: Original applique patterns recalling the landscape of the westward migration.

Flora Botanica Museum Catalog

Exhibit at the Spencer Museum of Art featuring their spectacular collection. Click to read more.

Our Favorite Quiltmakers:Susan McCord

Quilts inspired by Indiana's 19th-century "Quilting Genius". Click on the picture for more at my Etsy shop.